


Anchor

by DerekHaleGirl97



Series: Girl!Stiles [6]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Laura Hale, Alpha Stiles Stilinski, Always Female Stiles Stilinski, Anchors, Beta Derek Hale, Beta Laura Hale, Born Werewolf Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale & Stiles Stilinski are the Same Age, Derek Hale is Stiles Stilinski's Anchor, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski are Soulmates, Evil Gerard Argent, F/M, Feral Stiles Stilinski, Hunter Sheriff Stilinski, Past Kate Argent/Derek Hale, Pining Derek, Protective Derek, Stiles Stilinski is an Argent, Warning: Kate Argent, Werewolf Mates, Werewolf Sex, Werewolf Stiles Stilinski, Wolf Stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-25
Updated: 2017-07-14
Packaged: 2018-09-02 02:38:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8648548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DerekHaleGirl97/pseuds/DerekHaleGirl97
Summary: The smell of blood was thick in the air. Laura and Derek stood there in awe, not believing that the wolf had actually saved them. It was as if time stood still, and every living thing in the preserve held its breath as they waited for what the wolf would do next. The wolf raised her head to look at Derek and Laura, eyes glowing a bright red before stepping off of Kate and making her way back into the woods without a second glance.





	1. One Look, and I can't Catch My Breath

**Author's Note:**

> Theme Song: Hunger by Ross Copperman

> [One look and I can’t catch my breath](https://youtu.be/L7QIYXGL8m8)   
>  [Two souls into one flesh](https://youtu.be/L7QIYXGL8m8)   
>  [When you’re not next to me](https://youtu.be/L7QIYXGL8m8)   
>  [I’m incomplete](https://youtu.be/L7QIYXGL8m8)

**********

“Stiles, where are you?” Her father coos, looking this way and that to find his little pup. He had a wide smile, letting his skillful eyes search through the woods until he found a patch of familiar brown fur. “There you are, my little puppy,”

Hearing her pet name, Stiles perks up from her hiding place, tongue out and tail wagging in excitement. She jumps up and runs to her father, barking with joy as he crouches down, catching her in her favorite Teletubbies blanket, and lifting her into his arms. Stiles changes back to her human farm, a giggling girl with bouncy brown curls to match her mother’s, and a wide grin that matches her father’s. Stiles clings to him, rubbing her cheek against his as she laughs because she can.

“Daddy! You found me!” Stiles says through a fit of giggles and John chuckles fondly. He rubs her cheek back, knowing how tactile wolves, especially his little pup, love being with family and pack.

“Of course I did, Sweetheart,” John says, holding her close to his heart like he did when she was born. “Mommy wants us back home before it gets dark.”

“I still don’t know why Mommy didn’t come with us,” Stiles pouts as John fixes the blanket around to keep the November air from touching her bare skin. “It’s more fun when Mommy plays too. She’s better at hide and seek!”

John chuckles, “I know puppy, but Mommy had to do something. She just wants to make sure her territory is safe for you.” John doesn’t tell Stiles about the dangers, she’s still so young to know how cruel the world can be to young puppies like her. Especially with her gift to change into a full wolf, even her mother couldn’t do that. Hunters would want to hurt his little pup because of that. Claudia and he know the risks, that’s why Claudia takes up scouting the perimeter every night to make sure nothing got through her borders.

“Will Mommy want to play with us later?” Stiles asked, her giving John her puppy eyes. His heart melts even more, pretty sure it’s now a pile of goop in his chest at this point.

“Of course Mommy will play with us, puppy.” John coos as he reaches his home out in the middle of the woods. “She loves you the most,”

“No!” Stiles protests, kicking her legs a little. “She loves you the mostest!”

“No, she loves you more,” John shoots back, causing Stiles to huff. “You know why?”

Stiles shakes her head.

“Because you’re her little puppy. She does everything she can to protect you because she wants you to grow big and strong and have little puppies of your own.” John tells her, kissing her forehead. Stiles giggles and smiles wide at him.

“What about you, Daddy?” She asks and John smiles even more.

“I love you just as much as your Mommy does. It’s Daddy’s job to protect you and Mommy from bad people.”

“Mommy says you were a Hunter once; does that help protect us?” Stiles asks and John cringes at the mention of his family heritage. He smiles nonetheless, knowing that it’s all behind him now and he’s happy with the life he has chosen. If someone told him ten years ago that he was going to be married to a werewolf and have a kid who can fully shift into a real wolf, he’d think they were nuts.

“Yes, it helps because even though I’m not a werewolf like Mommy, I still want to protect you both because you two are my whole world,” John tells her, tickling her tummy to make her laugh. Stiles shrills in laughter, clinging even tighter to him and swats his hand away from her stomach.

“I love you, Daddy,” Stiles says, voice muffled into his neck.

“I love you too, Puppy,” John hugs her tighter.

They finally near the house, a small cabin of sorts that used to belong to a bigger part of Claudia’s family before the hunters came and almost killed them all. Claudia and her older brother were the only ones left, and soon even he was taken down by hunters. That meant that Claudia and Stiles were now the only members left of the once powerful pack. John would include himself as well, but he would never admit to his wife that he had been partially responsible for her brother’s death. His father had convinced him to try and gain Claudia’s affections to set the final trap and end the pack once and for all, but neither of them had considered the possibility of John actually falling for Claudia.

When her brother died, John convinced Claudia to run away with him and never look back in order to protect her. She agreed and left Maine without a second glance back, settling far into the west coast. Since then, they’ve gotten married, moved into a small town called Beacon Hills, and not a year later Stiles was born. They’ve been living in peace for nine years, and John can only hope it can last long enough for his pup to grow and learn to defend herself. Maybe find someone who can protect her like he does, preferably not a hunter. He may have changed his views, but he sure as hell knows that not many of the other hunters feel the same way.

He walks up the path to the back door of their home, pushing the sliding door open with one hand, and carried Stiles into the house. When he walks into the living room to get to the part of the cabin where their rooms are located, he freezes once he sees a group of men standing in his living room. The one standing in the center smirked wide at them, cocking an eyebrow at John as he tightens his hold around his pup.

“Oh look, it’s my dear son. My what a surprise it is to see you after you ran off with the bitch.” The man, John’s father, Gerard, says. Stiles peeks at them from her blanket, eyes changing from their natural light brown to the familiar glowing yellow. She growls at them, showing her fangs, and John feels her claws through the blanket. Gerard’s eyes fall on her, his smirk vanishing once he took in the resemblance between her and John. His eyes are filled with rage, giving Stiles a disgusted look as he turns back to John. “You had a child with her?”

John glares at Gerard, moving Stiles in his arms so she’s not as close to them, fearing the worst. “She is my daughter,” He forces out, not wanting to but he knew this would irk his father to no end. “And your granddaughter.”

“That monstrosity in your arms has nothing to do with the Argent bloodline.” Gerard snaps at him, causing Stiles to squirm in her father’s arms.

“What are you doing here?” John asked through gritted teeth, his hand twitching for the gun he had hidden under his belt. Gerard noticed the movement and smiled wide.

“I’m here to finish what I started, son. To end the Stilinski pack once and for all.” Gerard says, moving his hand to give the others the command to point their weapons at Stiles. John placed her down to the floor, then steps in between her and the hunters, using his body to shield Stiles.

“Over my dead body,” John states, pulling his gun out to aim at Gerard.

Before anyone can pull the trigger, Claudia appears through one of the windows, jumping through it, and attacking one of the hunters. Instantly killing them. She roars over the sound of gunshots, her eyes glowing red as she launches herself at another hunter. John uses their distraction to snatch Stiles back into his arms and carries her out of the house. He wasn’t worried about Claudia because he knew she can take care of herself. It was Stiles he was worrying for, having witnessed such violence already in her short life.

He runs with her into the woods, hearing the gunshots echo from his home as he takes Stiles as far from there as he can. He hears a few of the footsteps running after him, but thankfully he was far enough away for him to hide Stiles. He gets to the meeting place, a large oak tree that had a hollow inside that was small enough for Stiles to fit through in her wolf form. He places her back on the ground by the tree, smoothing some of the curls in her hair as he notices that Stiles is crying.

“D-Daddy w-what about Mommy?” Stiles sobs, tears streaking her face.

“It’s okay sweetie, everything will be okay.” He reassures her, placing a gentle kiss on her nose. “But right now, Daddy needs you to turn into a puppy so you can hide from the bad people.”

“L-Like hide and seek?” Stiles asks and John nods.

“Yes, like hide and seek, but you can’t let anyone else know where you are. Wait until either your Mommy or I come and find you. If we don’t come until nightfall, I need you to run, do you understand me?” John asks and Stiles nods, trying to stop her tears despite having more glazing over her eyes. For a moment as he stares into her eyes, they flash yellow and then he can see the red bleeding into them, making them Alpha red. He feels his heart drop at that moment, realizing that Claudia was gone now, seeing that her spark now transferred to Stiles. He bites back the tears and presses his lips to her forehead, pulling her into one last hug.

In his arms, Stiles changes into her wolf form, yipping at John for a moment before whimpering. He smiles reassuringly at her before tucking her into the hole in the tree, letting her be covered in the blanket before reaching in to pet her.

“My beautiful baby pup. I love you so much,” John says, trying to keep the tears from escaping. Stiles lets out a sad whimper, leaning into her father’s touch before he pulls away. It takes everything in John to turn and run off, ignoring the want to take Stiles with him and not leave her alone. He knew he really didn’t have a choice at this point. His little pup was the last of her kind in the region, and he knew how important it was to keep her safe, even as the Alpha. He runs as far as he can from the hiding spot, reaching to a clearing before pulling out his gun and aiming it at the forest.

Gerard appears gun out and aimed at John. He was covered in blood, possibly not his own, but he had a livid look to his features. Glaring at the disgrace he called a son. “Where is your pup, John? I’m sure now that its mother’s gone, she would be an alpha. Rare to ever have a child take such a ranking and yet she is the last of her kind.”

“You’re never going to find her, Gerard,” John says, keeping his arm stiff with the gun.

Gerard chuckles and smiles wide. “Oh, she’ll show herself eventually. It’s always the lone wolves that never survive.”

A gunshot fires and echoes through the forest.

***

(Ten Years Later)

Stiles trots over to the river, lowering her head until she could lap the water into her mouth with her tongue. When she had her fill, Stiles licks her lips and begins to walk away from the stream and back into her cave. Ever since the day she lost her mother and father, Stiles has been in her wolf form and has never come out. When she felt the ties to her small family and pack severed, Stiles let the wolf part of her take over, protecting her from the pain and emptiness she felt that night she took off into the woods. Her wolf protects her, and she in return allows it to do as it pleases and she’s survived ever since.

Her once brown fur now grew into a black coat, and she rarely uses her natural eyes, always keeping her Alpha eyes to warn other predators of her supernatural status, even other wolves. She’s been alone all this time and she doesn’t plan on being around people or wolves alike anytime soon. So, when she hears someone nearing her home, she feels her hackles rise and a growl escapes her throat. Stiles turns her body to run towards where she heard the sound of footsteps, readying herself to fight whoever comes her way.

Stiles leans down into some bushes, hiding as she watches two figures rushing through the trees. They both looked similar, one younger than the other, almost Stiles’ age as far as she could tell. She can also smell that they’re both wolves, which only makes her hackles rise even more, but then she notices that one of them had this smell. It was an interesting smell, something in the mix between pine, lavender, ash, and musk. The smell was emitting from the younger of the two; he had raven hair and jade green eyes with mixes of blues, browns, and gold. It was a warm and welcoming smell, it almost smelled like home, but mixed in with fear and sadness.

Despite the heady smell of the werewolf, Stiles remained in her place as she watches the two pause to catch their breath. The older one, a female with the same raven hair but had brown eyes that reminded her of her mother, turned to the younger with a scared look on her face.

“Do you think we lost them?” The older one asks and the younger shakes his head.

“For now, at least.” He responds and Stiles can feel her wolf shiver at the sound. What the hell is wrong with her right now?

“I don’t think they’re the least of our worries,” The older one says, sniffing around the area for a moment. “It smells like we just walked into someone else’s territory,”

“Oh great,” The younger huffs and this gives Stiles the cue of moving from her place.

She walks out of the brushes, head lowered and teeth bared. She masks her scent to keep herself hidden from what she thinks are two betas. A low rumble emits from her chest, vibrating through her throat until it comes out as a harsh growl. The two wolves turn, eyes wide at the sight of her and then they are both growling back, shifting into their beta forms. One flashes yellow eyes while the other flashes blue. Stiles flashes her red eyes and they both stop and gape at her.

She continues to growl at them, but then she catches another scent and this one smells all too familiar. Her hackles rise and she begins to foam at the mouth as a hunter with blonde hair runs in, a gun in her hand and a sadistic grin on her face. The Betas turn to growl at her, but Stiles moves past them, recognizing the scent as one of the hunters that killed her family years ago. She barks and growls threateningly at the huntress, lowering her head into a battle stance as the huntress gave her a once over. Her grin fell into a frown as she sees Stiles flash her red eyes at her in warning.

“Talia Hale? I thought you perished in the fire,” The huntress comments and Stiles snarls at her.

‘That’s not my name,’ Stiles thinks, inching closer to the huntress. She wishes she could tell her who she really was. Stiles wishes she can tell this huntress, this Argent, that she has their blood in her veins, that she is what they’ve hunted for centuries. She wants to rub it in their faces, mock their name because they had a werewolf as a relative. She wanted to so badly, but her human voice was lost forever, and all Stiles wanted was the huntress’ blood on her paws.

“Doesn’t matter,” the huntress scoffs and points the gun at Stiles. “I’ve taken out a whole pack in one go, I can handle three more mutts.”

Stiles snaps then, launching herself at the huntress, aiming for her neck.

***

(Derek)

Derek watched in awe as the wolf launches herself at Kate, teeth bared and ready for the kill. The wolf tackles Kate to the ground, snapping at her jaw and neck to get a better hold while Kate uses her arm to hold her back. He can hear his own heart racing against his chest, silently cheering for the wolf to win because of what Kate had done to him and his family. He wanted her dead, even though he couldn’t do it himself, but he hoped the wolf would do it for him, inadvertently avenging his family after their lives were lost at Kate’s hands.

The wolf looked like it was winning, finally taking a harsh bite into Kate’s arm. He can hear the sound of bones breaking and Kate screams out in pain as she whacks the wolf away with her gun. The wolf shakes her head, growling louder and roaring at Kate before biting into her side, tearing some of her skin. Derek can smell the harsh iron smell of Kate’s blood, watching silently as it bleeds into her white shirt and leather jacket. He watches in amazement as the wolf attacked with instinct, showing no signs of humanity or mercy, almost like she was a wild animal and not an actual werewolf.

Kate bites hard onto her lip to keep from crying out, glaring at the wolf with such hate. She gets a hold of her gun, aiming it at the wolf before firing at her. Derek flinches, but it didn’t look like it affected the wolf at all, she just knocks the gun out of Kate’s hand, causing it to fly out and disappear into the nearby shrubs. Kate was now left wide open and the wolf went in for the kill. Ripping out her throat with her teeth and dousing her snout in warm blood as it ripped and tore out Kate’s vocal cords.

Finally, it was over and the wolf took in deep and heavy breaths as it stared down at the lifeless corpse of the woman who used Derek. The smell of blood was thick in the air. Laura and Derek stood there in awe, not believing that the wolf had actually saved them. It was as if time stood still, and every living thing in the preserve held its breath as they waited for what the wolf would do next. The wolf raised her head to look at Derek and Laura, eyes glowing a bright red before stepping off of Kate and making her way back into the woods without a second glance. Derek and Laura turned to each other before following the wolf, keeping as far back as they could because they knew it wouldn’t be wise to make the wolf feel threatened.

The wolf barely made it to the tree line before it began to falter in its steps. It began to walk as if she had drunk too much alcohol and was having trouble walking a straight line. Soon, the wolf collapsed into a heap on the forest floor, not making any sound as she shifted her form back into a human body. Derek and Laura rushed forward, only then realizing that the wolf (or the girl for that matter) was seriously injured. Derek can see where the bullet had nicked her shoulder, causing the girl to bleed profoundly from the hole where the wolfsbane bullet was lodged. He can see the veins protruding out of her pale skin, causing the girl to look sickly pale as the skin became white as snow and the blood continued to flow.

“We need to get her to Deaton’s,” Laura tells Derek, kneeling beside the girl as she moans in pain.

Derek can only nod, shrugging off his leather jacket and placing it over the girl’s naked body. He can smell her scent now, seeing that her body was no longer blocking it due to the wolfsbane, and it hit him like a wrecking ball to his crotch. He can smell all kinds of things, loneliness, pain, guilt, agony, anger, fury, sadness, vanilla, lavender, and home. His wolf began to whine and whimper, crawling beneath his skin as he takes in the smells. Only then did Derek realize that this wolf, this girl, who killed Kate Argent, was his mate.

His mother always talked about werewolves finding their other halves. It was a common thing among wolves, and once they find their mate, they mate for life. His mother always romanticized how wolves like them find their mates, it can either be like love at first sight or their wolves would be able to know the already deep connection they have to their mate. Derek always knew he would find his mate, even though he wasn’t actually looking.

However, do to the recent events of Kate using him to murder his entire family, and him having to kill his first girlfriend because she rejected the bite, Derek thought he didn’t deserve to find his mate. He didn’t deserve to feel love after everything he did, but here she was, dying out in the middle of the preserve after ripping out Kate’s throat. An Alpha werewolf who can fully shift into an actual wolf, a rare trait among his kind and he only knew of one other person who had the ability, that was his mother.

Derek swallowed hard, trying to quiet his wolf as he bends down and swoops his mate into his arms. Laura has used some fabric from her own shirt to wrap up the wound to keep from getting infected, so the blood wasn’t flowing as much, but it should be enough until they get to Deaton’s. With her in his arms, Derek took note of her physical features as Laura lead the way back to the Camaro. The girl had dark brown hair, thick with loose curls, pale skin that was dotted with moles over her cheeks, out of portion lips, the lower slightly fuller than the upper, and pale skin flushed with pink, but looked almost dead.

His heart raced at her beauty, and his wolf whined in the back of his throat, begging Derek to get their mate to safety. He complied as much, letting Laura take the wheel once they reached their car and he slides in the back seat with her to keep her in his arms. He had to make sure his mate was going to be okay, he just had to.


	2. Two Souls Into One Flesh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles wakes up and learns that she's not alone...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! Sorry, it took so long! Anyway, leave a comment if you guys want the next part! XD

When Stiles comes to, she feels like someone has taken an eighteen wheeler and ran her over with it multiple times. She sits up on the metal table she has been lying on, cold and stiff to the bone, then barely registers that something isn’t right. Stiles looks down to see that her body isn’t covered in the familiar fur she was used to; she can see her pale limbs poking out of the sheet that hid the rest of her body. Now, Stiles was freaking out. Her body wasn’t the same as she remembered it, much longer and curvier, almost like her mother’s, but with moles dotting her skin.

She looked at her hands, seeing the long fingers curl around her fleshy palm, then down her arms. Her mind was racing at the very sight, causing her to slowly panic. Why was she not in her wolf form? How had she even changed back? Stiles pushes the sheet from her body, examining herself to see if she sustained any injuries. Nothing looked out of place, only that she had acquired some interesting parts that weren’t there before, but overall, everything looked to be intact.

Stiles then register’s the scent of chemicals, animal feces and urine, herbs, and the familiar scent of the two wolves not far from the room she was in. She tried to ignore all the confusing sounds that came from the clanking of metal and dogs barking loudly and focused on voices, three of them. They sounded like they were in a conversation, and Stiles tried to understand some of the words being used.

“You two don’t have any idea who this girl might be?” A man asks, possibly the owner of this establishment talking to the two betas Stiles encountered in the woods. Had they brought her here? Made her change into her human form? Stiles doesn’t stop the growling that escapes her throat, a little weak and broken in her human form, but still threatening nonetheless.

“She was in her wolf form when we found her,” another man says, much younger and almost familiar. “Then she passed out and reverted back to her human form after she attacked Kate.”

“Did she smell like she had a pack?” The first asked.

“It didn’t smell like it. She must be an alpha without a pack,” The older Beta says, feminine and strong.

“Then it will be that much harder to find out who she is and if she has a pack or not,” The man says and Stiles tenses at that. Why do they want to know where her pack is? She doesn’t have a pack. Not anymore.

“I think she’s awake,” The youngest Beta says and it seems that the whole building tenses.

“Derek, what do you mean?” The oldest Beta asks.

“Don’t you hear her? She’s awake,” The youngest- Derek- says, as if stating the obvious.

“It’s part of the mate bond,” The first man explains and Stiles frowns at this. “When a werewolf finds their mate, they begin to feel more sensitive to the other and vice versa. Derek is just reacting to it like any other werewolf, especially one his age.”

“That explains a lot,” The other beta responds.

“Yes, well let’s go make sure our guest isn’t panicking at the moment.” The man says and then Stiles hears them walking towards the door.

She has to think fast, looking around the room to try and find a way out. However, before she could get a chance, the door opens and Stiles finds herself growling at the intruders. She backs herself into a corner, crouched down and snarling at the three people standing cautiously at the door. The unfamiliar one, a dark skinned man wearing a white coat, holds his hands out to her in a sign of peace. Stiles just snarls again, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck rise and her eyes flashing red in warning.

“We mean you no harm,” the man says in a cautious voice, as calm and soothing as he can manage. “My name is Dr. Deaton and these are Laura and Derek Hale. Do you know who the Hales are?”

Stiles only growls in response, backing away even further from the trio. No, Stiles has never heard about the Hales. She knows that there are other werewolves out there who are like her, but not entirely. She didn’t even know if she should, seeing as this man knows about them and it sounded like he highly respected them for some reason. It didn’t matter to her, Stiles just wants to get out of this place and back to her territory.

“Can you speak?” The man, Deaton, asks and Stiles just glares at him, responding in another snarl. “It appears our guest may be a feral werewolf.”

“What does that mean?” Derek asks, giving Stiles a weary glance before turning to Deaton.

“It happens to some supernatural creatures. Mostly werewolves due to the fact that they are basically half of two beings. One being of intelligence and logic. The other being of pure instinct. Sometimes, either due to traumatic events or just by choice, a werewolf can give in to their instincts, allowing the wolf in them to take over and turn off their humanity. It’s a way for them to protect themselves from human emotions, giving them the time to heal before they can return to their humanity.” Deaton explains to them, keeping his eyes on Stiles like if he even looked away for a second, then she would jump at him. “This must be the case, but whatever the cause, we must be extremely cautious. Especially since she is an Alpha.”

“What do we do to help her?” Derek says and Deaton gets this look on his face like he has an idea.

“Derek, go to her and try to calm her down,” Deaton instructs and Laura turns to look at him in shock.

“Are you crazy? What if she attacks him?” Laura asks but Deaton doesn’t tear his eyes from Stiles. Making her tense under his stare.

“If Derek is her mate, then she won’t attack him. Feral or not, the basic instinct to protect their mate is far too strong for any wolf to ignore.” Deaton explains and Derek looks at Stiles nervously.

Without much hesitation, Derek slowly makes his way to Stiles, making sure to go as slow as he can manage so he won’t frighten her. Stiles backs up even more, but once his scent hits her, Stiles basically freezes. He smells of lavender, musk, and home, warmth, safety. She can’t help but take a cautious step forward, her hands curling like paws as she sniffs in Derek’s direction. In her mind, the words mate, mate, mate, mate, echo through her thoughts. Taking another step forward, her mind shifts from mate to mine, mine, mine, mine, claim, claim mate, protect mate, mine.

Before any of them react, Stiles grabs onto the hem of his shirt, using as much force as she could muster to pull Derek down to her side. He gracefully follows, kneeling down beside her and letting her get into his personal space. Stiles sniffs at his neck before burying her face there, inhaling deeply and gripping tightly to his shirt as if to say that she is never letting go of him. He is hers now and she’ll rip anyone’s throat out if they stand in her way.

Derek seemed to tense under her touch, but soon becomes calm enough to wrap his arms cautiously around her. Stiles snuggles more into Derek and that seemed to be enough for him to finally relax. She keeps inhaling his comforting scent, liking the way his smooth skin felt against her lips, then began to rub her cheek against his to scent mark him.

“Looks like it’s working,” Laura mutters and Stiles growls softly at her, flashing her red eyes before burrowing back into her mate.

“Derek, can you coax her back onto the table? Or at least get her covered up, some?” Deaton asks and Derek nods his head. He moves to get up, but Stiles tightens her hold and keeps him in an iron grip. She didn’t want him to move away yet, or ever at all. Stiles only felt safe with him, she didn’t trust the other wolf or the vet.

“It’s okay, they won’t hurt you,” Derek murmurs softly into her ear and Stiles relaxes as his breath brushes the shell of her ear. “We just want to help you, make sure you’re healthy and safe. Can you tell me your name?”

Stiles turns to look at Derek, trying to understand his words. Oh, he wanted to know her name! She thinks about it for a little while, trying to remember her name, but nothing could really come to mind. She can only remember what her father and mother would always call her.

“S-Stiles,” She says, her voice barely above a whisper, hoarse form the longtime of disuse. She swallows to ease the agitated throat, then returns her gaze back up to Derek’s.

“Stiles? That’s an odd name,” Derek says, smiling with caution.

Stiles returns his smile, “It’s the only name I can remember.”

“Stiles?” She turns her head back to Laura and Deaton, eyes hardening at them. Derek, she can trust, but the other two are not as easily trustworthy. It’s her wolf that’s seeing them as a threat, especially since they made her change from her wolf form. “Do you remember anything else? Maybe your last name? Just to see if you have any family that are looking for you.”

“There is no one left,” Stiles says, her voice gaining some volume, but still shaky and broken. “It’s just me,”

“Well, we won’t know for certain unless you give us a name,” Deaton says in a voice that sounds like it’s directed towards a child. Last time Stiles checked, she wasn’t a mere pup anymore.

“Stilinski,” Stiles responds and Deaton gives her a surprised look.

“Stilinski? As in the Stilinski pack?” Deaton says in wonder, both Derek and Laura turn to give him confused expressions. “They were a very powerful pack in the east coast. Much like your family, but their alpha was a True Alpha. Sadly, the pack was destroyed by the Argents and it was said that only two of their members survived. Both the son and daughter of the True Alpha. It is unclear what happened to them, at least until now.”

Deaton comes closer to Stiles, close enough to leave her comfortable, and kneels down before her. “Does your name happen to be Claudia?”

Stiles shakes her head, “My mother,”

Deaton’s eyebrows were raised high on his forehead, “You’re Claudia’s daughter? I guess it would make since because you look too young to be three decades old… What did happen to her?”

Stiles bites her lip, turning away from him to hide her face in Derek’s chest. Letting his heartbeat calm her enough to not allow herself to cry. “Hunters, the bad ones my Daddy warned me about. They were in our house after he and I were playing hide and seek. They attacked us and Daddy was able to save me. I don’t know what happened to my Mommy, but my Daddy was sad when he saw my eyes turn red. He told me to stay as a puppy because I could hide better like that, told me to wait for him until nightfall. He never came back though, so I ran away.”

“How old were you when it happened?”

“Nine,” Stiles answers, pressing her face harder into Derek’s chest.

Deaton frowns, “And you’ve been a wolf since then?”

Stiles nods, “It was safe to be a wolf. No one hurt me while I was a wolf.”

“How long ago was this?”

Stiles didn’t answer because she wasn’t really sure herself. The concept of time wasn’t important to her, all that was important was survival. Stiles tried to count how many full moons she remembers seeing, but soon it became too much to count. She sighs in frustration before throwing her hands in the air and burrowing back into Derek’s warmth. Stiles honestly had no idea how long it’s been since she started being a wolf permanently.

“It’s okay, Stiles,” Derek says reassuringly, softly brushing his fingers through her tangled hair. Stiles immediately relaxes into his touch, feeling her chest rumble with content as she closes her eyes and lets him pet her. It’s been so long since someone comforted her like this, so long since she was hugged or kissed on the cheek by Mommy or Daddy.

“Stiles, can you at least tell me what year you last remember?” Deaton asks and Stiles opens her eyes to look at him.

“2006,” Stiles replies, “It’s want I remember seeing on the calendar in the kitchen before the bad hunters came.”

“That was almost ten years ago,” Derek says in surprise, “You’ve been a wolf for a whole decade?”

Stiles nods, “My wolf protected me from the bad hunters, so I let it.”

“So, what are we going to do now?” Laura asks and Deaton gets up to turn to her.

“We try and get her to be integrated back into society,” Deaton replies, “She needs a new home and a pack to help her regain her humanity. I think letting her into your pack may help her some.”

“No!” Stiles says, clutching to Derek. “I don’t want to be human; I want to be a wolf. I was safe as a wolf, and it’s the only thing I know.”

“Stiles,” Derek says soothingly, petting her hair, “You can’t be a wolf forever. You need to be in a pack, where we can protect you and make sure you never get hurt again.”

“I never needed one for ten years,” Stiles argues, raising an eyebrow at him as if to say he doesn’t dare challenge her. He is a beta and she is an alpha. Betas listen to Alphas. That’s what Mommy told her.

“But every Alpha needs a pack, Stiles,” Derek says, gently lifting her chin up with his index finger. “Alphas are much stronger with a pack, you need one because not only is it dangerous to be alone, it’s even more dangerous if you’re an alpha and alone. I know you want to be a wolf, I know you feel safer as one, but can you at least try to be a human? Just for a little while? And if you don’t like it, then you can go back to being a wolf.”

“And mate will come with me?” Stiles asks in a tentative voice.

Derek looked a little shocked by this, staring at Stiles for a moment before turning back to Laura.  She was shaking her head at him, obviously telling him to say no. Derek turned back to look at Stiles’ wide amber colored eyes, so large and innocent, it made his heart flutter. He sighs, taking in a deep breath before he answers.

“Yes, mate will come with you if you’re not happy with my pack,” Derek replies and Laura gives him an incredulous look.

“Derek, you cannot be serious,” Laura says, stepping forward to place her hand on his shoulder. Stiles leaps forward, pushing Derek behind her and crouches down to the floor on all fours. Getting into the same fighting stance that she did with Kate, but made no more moves towards Laura.

“Mine! My mate!” Stiles growls out, eyes turning crimson red, “No one touches my mate!” Her voice has the Alpha echo to it, making it sound like a fierce wolf than a nineteen-year-old girl.

“Stiles! It’s okay! She’s my sister, she won’t hurt me.” Derek gets back to Stiles’ side, gathering her in his arms and pushing her into his chest. “Laura is part of my pack, part of your pack now. She won’t hurt you or me. Please, calm down.”

Stiles visibly relaxes, burrowing her nose into Derek’s neck and letting his scent ease her. She wraps her arms around his neck, pressing herself against him and carding his hair with her fingers. Her heart slows down to a steady beat and she seems to be in a sleep like state.

“I think it would be best to let her have some space,” Deaton advises and Laura rolls her eyes.

“The one time Derek finds his mate, and it has to be an overprotective feral Alpha,” Laura mutters and crosses her arms over her chest. “I’m guessing she’s ready to come home with us?”

“Well, I think you need to situate her with the pack first. Let her get to know them before she goes to a place she isn’t familiar with, especially with so many scents of other werewolves. And she may also need a change of clothes as well.” Deaton tells Laura, watching as Derek and Stiles curl around each other. Derek took note in covering as much of Stiles’ body as he could, especially since he didn’t want anyone else to see his mate in her birthday suit.

“Alright, I’ll call Lydia and tell her to bring something for Stiles to wear,” Laura informs them, then pulls out her phone to call the others.

“Do you think you can get her to bring my hoodie?” Derek asks and Laura raises a brow at him. “I figured that if Stiles has to wear clothes, it would be ones she’d be most comfortable in. Maybe ones with my scent on it?”

Laura rolls her eyes again, “Seems fair enough.”

***

The rest of the pack came within the hour, staying in the waiting room of the animal clinic and waiting to meet their new Alpha. Well, technically she won’t be in the pack acting as one, but a new alpha none the less. Lydia did bring Derek’s hoodie like he asked her to. It was a burgundy colored sweater with the words Beacon Hills High School over the front and on the back was block letters that spell out Hale with a number four underneath.

Derek helped Stiles into the clothes, showing her how to put them on, then letting her finish by herself. The hoodie had swallowed her whole frame, stopping just past her hips and the sleeves hiding her hands. Derek was right about the sweater, Stiles was practically inhaling it into her nose, not getting enough of Derek’s scent. Once she was fully dressed, Derek brought her out on shaky legs to meet the rest of the pack. To say that Stiles was nervous would be the understatement of the year. She had never met so many people before, and this was Derek’s pack. She wasn’t sure about how her first impression with them is going to be, but hopefully she’ll be accepted by them and not be hurt.

Stiles presses herself into Derek’s side, letting the feeling of his arm wrapped around her waist ease her enough to calm her nerves. When they get to the lobby, Stiles sees that there are eight members in the pack, including the ones she was familiar with. They varied in expressions, but all gave welcoming smiles. One of them came forward, a guy with a crooked jaw and a huge smile, and held his hand out towards her.

“Hi, my name is Scott McCall, and I’m the Alpha of the pack,” The guy, Scott says and Stiles just stares at his hand. Instead of taking it, Stiles steps forward, sniffing at him for a second before she nods and steps back into Derek’s side. Scott gave her a confused look, his scent changed from calm to uncomforting before turning to Derek.

As if knowing what he was going to ask, Derek just rolls his eyes and pulls Stiles close. “She spent ten years as a wolf, Scott. I don’t think she’ll get the hang of normal human gestures anytime soon.”

Scott makes a dumbfounded face, then goes back to smiling at Stiles, “Oh, I guess I almost forgot. Anyway, welcome to the pack.”

Stiles nods, not saying anything yet. It hurt her to talk, so Deaton advised that he rest her vocal cords for a day before trying to speak again. Besides, Stiles can count on Derek to speak for her when she needed.

Scott turns to the rest of the pack. “These are your new pack mates, Jackson, Lydia, Boyd, Erica, Isaac, you already met Laura,” Scott tells Stiles as he points out each and every one of them, “and that lovely lady over there is my mate, Allison.”

Stiles takes a cautious sniff at everyone, familiarizing herself with their scents. When she gets to Allison, she smells the familiar underlining scent. The same one burned into her memory, and the very same one she encountered in the woods with the blonde huntress. Stiles begins to unconsciously growl at Allison and before anything could happen, Derek yanks her back and holds her in his arms.

“You’re an Argent!” Stiles snarls, baring her teeth at the shocked looking girl.

“Woah, what the hell is going on?” One of the other betas, Isaac, asks and everyone tenses around them. Scott pulls Allison behind him and looks at Stiles worriedly.

“Stiles, what’s wrong?” Derek asks Stiles soothingly, trying to keep her from jumping on Allison. The look on her face reminded him of the look he saw on her before she attacked Kate. It was as if she had personally offended Stiles by being alive and Stiles made sure to it that she wasn’t. It was like the moment Stiles laid eyes on her, she wanted nothing but to have her dead.

“She smells like the bad hunters who killed my family. The ones that called me a monster because my Daddy was my Mommy’s mate. Said that I will never have the Argent’s blood in my veins.” Stiles snarls out, eyes dead locked on Allison. Except, she wasn’t seeing Allison. In her eyes, she saw the old man with the wicked grin and the evil eyes.

“What do you mean, Stiles?” Derek asks, pressing his lips against her head in hopes to calm her down.

“My Daddy was a hunter, a good kind because he loved me and my Mommy,” Stiles explains, taking deep breaths. “The bad hunters that came were Daddy’s family, my grandpa was the one that called me a monster,”

Allison’s eyes seem to widen at that, “Wait, was your father named John?”

Stiles glares at Allison, “Why would you want to know that?”

“Because my Dad always talked about having a brother once. He told me he ran away because he fell in love with a werewolf, like I did,” Allison took Scott’s hand in hers. “He never told me what happened to him though.”

“I don’t really know either,” Stiles says, clasping her hands into fists. “I never really saw him again after that night. As far as I know, both of my parents are dead because of my grandfather.”

“I’m so sorry,” Allison says, coming forward to Stiles despite Scott telling her to stay back. “But I am nothing like Gerard, or the rest of my family. I live by a different code. nous protégeons ceux qui ne peuvent pas se protéger eux-mêmes.”

“What does that mean?” Stiles asks, staring at Allison with a scowl on her face.

“It means ‘we protect those who cannot protect themselves,” Allison comes even closer to Stiles, “And right now, I’m willing to protect you if you can accept me.”

Stiles looks at Allison with hesitation, taking a deep breath. Allison’s scent is much different than the one Stiles is scarred with, much lighter and pure than the scent that smells like blood and death. Stiles swallows hard before she speaks.

“I’m not sure I can,” Stiles says, putting much conviction in her voice to make her sound confident. “I want to believe that you won’t hurt me, you smell nicer than your family’s scent, but I can’t bring myself to trust you just yet. I’ve never been welcomed in your family with open arms because of what I am, so don’t expect me to do the same. Prove to me that you aren’t like the rest of them, then I’ll consider thinking about accepting you as anything else other than an ally.”

Allison looks a bit disappointed, but gives Stiles a reassuring smile nonetheless. “I understand. Especially what happened to you and your family.”

Stiles nods in acceptance and goes back to burrowing herself into Derek’s side.

“Wait, wouldn’t that mean that technically Stiles is an Argent?” Isaac asks, looking at Stiles wearily.

“Could be possible that her father took her mother’s last name,” The redhead, Lydia answers him with a calculating tone in her voice. “Especially since she’s the only member from an all-powerful pack back in the east coast. I think it was more sentimental because her mother was the last lineage of her family. So it makes sense that Stiles’ last name is Stilinski instead of Argent. But if you’re talking about the technical sense, then yes she is an Argent, but not as much as Allison because she’s a werewolf and obviously not a hunter in that sense.”

“Oh,” Isaac says, scratching the back of his head.

After that, things seemed to calm down some. The tension between Allison and Stiles was still high, but Stiles wasn’t as willing to rip her throat out like she did with Kate and she was far from ever considering her as family yet, even if Stiles doesn’t really believe Allison’s uncle was actually her Dad. The only person who could point that out would be Allison’s father, but Stiles wasn’t in the mood to meet any more Argents yet.

Once Stiles became well acquainted with the pack, Derek and the others took Stiles home to get her situated. Thankfully they lived out in the preserve, so Stiles didn’t have to worry about meeting any more people just yet. The house itself was larger than anything she was ever used to, maybe three stories tall and looked almost colonial. It was really pretty, but Stiles can smell ash and smoke from the car she was in, letting her know this house has some history to it. She stuck to Derek’s side the entire drive, taking comfort that she at least had her mate to help guide her through this confusing new world.

Nothing from her memories had stayed the same, everything seemed to have changed since she was younger. It was all new and confusing, but thankfully she has her mate to keep her grounded.

“So, Stiles…” She hears Scott say from the front seat. “Did you always had the ability to shift into a wolf?”

Stiles nods. “Yes, ever since I was old enough to crawl, I had the ability to shift into a full wolf. My mother could never do it, but she used to say it was because I was special. I never understood what she meant, but I always believed her.”

“Huh,” Scott huffs curiously.

“Do you happen to come from around here?” Laura was the one to ask this time, not looking back as she kept her eyes on the road.

“We lived in Beacon Hills before my parents were killed. Ever since then, I stayed in the preserve because it was the only place that felt safe.” Stiles answers and they nod in understanding.

Once they drive up to the house, Derek was the one to wrap his arm around Stiles’ waist and lead her to the house with Laura and Scott following behind. Stiles looked around the place in awe, taking in the elegant décor and furnished… well everything. It was so much grander than her home, and it even made her miss it even more. Derek led Stiles up the stairs to the rooms that smelled like they belonged to the others. As he passed each one, Stiles took in the different scents to familiarize herself to which room belonged to whom.

Soon enough, she finds a room that smelled the most like Derek’s scent. Thick and concentrated like her old home used to be like, Stiles doesn’t stop herself from entering the room. Derek gives a soft chuckle before following Stiles into the room, letting her look around. It was a simple room, painted light blue with a color scheme Stiles didn’t know about. The bed was a full size, not too big, but enough for a couple to be comfortable with. Stiles smelled Derek’s scent the most in this area, causing the girl to jump onto it and roll herself around in the sheets. Derek doesn’t stop himself from laughing at how adorable Stiles is, almost like she had a mentality of a pup had he not seen her literally rip someone’s throat out with their teeth.

“As you can tell, this is my room,” Derek says to her, even though Stiles didn’t seem like she was listening. “You’re going to be staying in the guest room right next door, so in case you need anything, I’m always close by.”

Stiles perks at this, “But I want to stay with you.”

Derek suddenly feels uncomfortable. Yes, he’d much rather stay with his mate, but he didn’t want to take away her privacy. She was as much human as she was werewolf, and it didn’t matter if she was feral for a good part of her life, he’d much rather she be comfortable than anything else.

“Well, wouldn’t you like your own space?” Derek asks and Stiles looked at him curiously. “I mean, if you’d like…”

“You don’t want me in your space?” Stiles asked, sounding a little dejected. Derek quickly went to rephrase himself.

“No, of course I want you to spend time with me!” Derek rushes, not wanting his mate to feel rejected. “It’s just that…Wouldn’t you like some time for yourself after a while? I mean, I can understand that going from one form to the other is such a drastic change. Wouldn’t you like some time to adjust to this whole situation?”

“Why would I do that if I have you?” Stiles asks, cocking her head to the side. “You’re my mate, and I want to spend as much time with you as I possibly can. And why would I need some time on my own if I spend most of my life being that way?”

“Uh…” Derek rubs the back of his neck. He guesses that she does have a point. Being an Alpha without a pack must have been difficult, and downright lonely if she was alone for a good part of a decade. Derek thinks Stiles is being a little clingy to him because he’s the closest thing she has to family now, so he can understand why Stiles can’t part from him anytime soon. “I guess you can stay-,”

“Yay! Thank you!” Stiles exclaims, then wraps her arms around his neck and pecks his stubbly cheek. Derek blushes at that, somewhat fond of Stiles’ childish behavior. He wonders when was the last time she was ever truly happy after her family died. That kind of pain, he understands.

Derek takes a while to get Stiles situated in his room, making space in his closet and drawers for Stiles’ things (when the pack comes around to collecting their old clothes to give to her) and even lets her pick a side of the bed she would want to sleep in. Stiles picks the right side, but kidnaps Derek’s pillow and makes it her own because it smells the most like him. Stiles’ entire demeanor reminds him that of a child. Her amber eyes so wide and child-like. Derek somewhat feels sorry for her because she had her whole childhood shattered before she could even understand the kind of danger she was in.

Stiles is a prime example of how cruel some people can be. People like Kate destroy whole lives, ruin children, kill their innocence and they don’t even care how it can affect the lives of others. At least now Stiles can start healing, can begin to let the scars of her past fade away and hopefully accept her life as a human again. Derek can only hope he is able to help her, if not, then what kind of a mate would he be?

Afterwards, Derek takes Stiles on a tour of the house. She listens with intent and wonder, looking around the house with curiosity and wonder. Stiles would even touch some of the things, mostly photo-frames, and she always has a careful touch with them. Like she was afraid to break them. Derek can only watch her fondly, feeling very lucky that he was able to find her when he did. He liked how she still had some playfulness to her, some sense of wonder for a life she’s never known. At least the Argents didn’t take _everything_ from her.

They ended up in the kitchen where the rest of the pack were setting up for dinner. Stiles clung to Derek’s side, not really sure she could trust the others just yet. Derek, she can trust, but the others will have to take some time. She’s never meet so many people all at once before, so it will be a challenge until she can fully trust them like she does with Derek.

They eat in the dining room, with Scott and Allison on one side and Derek and Stiles on the other. Derek sat right next to Stiles, helping her feel comfortable around the others while they all asked her some questions, similar to what Scott had asked her in the car ride home. Stiles answered them as honestly as she could, always being brutal about it and never wavering in her response.

“So you spent ten years as a wolf, did you ever get lonely sometimes?” One of them, Stiles remembers that her name was Lydia, asks.

“Sometimes,” Stiles replies, picking at the food in front of her. “But, I never really given much thought to it. I just only relied on my instincts.”

“What about packs? Did you ever join any packs?” Another, Erica, asks curiously.

“Didn’t want to.” Stiles responds, shrugging her shoulders. “I don’t trust people, wolves especially, as easily as you seem to think.”

“Have you ever had to eat raw meat?” Isaac asks, but it seemed a little mean-spirited. Stiles scowls at that.

“Yes, I have actually,” Stiles replies with a smug look on her face. “Deer is okay, but I really prefer the taste of human flesh.”

Everyone stares at her with shocked expressions, but Stiles is bursting out laughing.

“I’m joking,” She says and they seem to relax at that. “But yeah, I had to eat something.”

“Well, you’re missing out on the good quality of human food.” Scott says, lifting the meatloaf from his plate and into the air. “No one can ever beat Mom’s cooking.”

Stiles’ mood changes then as she thinks of her own Mom. She thinks about all the times she and her Mom shared while spending time together in the kitchen. Stiles would always watch her cook, even letting her help with some of the ingredients or stir something.

Stiles shrinks into herself and Derek takes immediate notice. He turns to see the sad look that played on Stiles’ features and he gently nudges her shoulder. Stiles turns to look at him, suddenly looking a little reserved, but he can see the sadness embedded in her eyes.

“Stiles, are you okay?” Derek whispers to her gently and Stiles nods her head.

“I’m just feeling a little tired.” Stiles whispers back, even though Derek knew it was something else that was bothering her.

“Why don’t you head on to bed and I’ll join you in a bit?” Derek offers and Stiles nods, smiling at him in appreciation. She quietly gets up and makes her way to the stairs, not saying a word to the others as they watch her leave. The mood suddenly changes and everyone has a guilty look on their faces.

“Did I say something wrong?” Scott asks and Derek shrugs his shoulders.

“She’s probably tired,” Derek replies and gives everyone a reassuring look. “It was a long day for her, so just let her get some rest for now.”

“Well, hopefully she’ll feel better soon,” Lydia tells him. “We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

Derek slightly cringes at that, “Just don’t go all out, Lydia. She still is a little uncomfortable being human.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t overdo it.” Lydia promises and Derek doesn’t exactly trust her word. Hopefully she actually does because he doesn’t want Stiles to feel too overwhelmed. Deaton says to take it one step at a time, and Derek plans to follow his advice to make sure his mate was comfortable. The last thing he needs is for Stiles to want to go back to being a wolf.

Derek excuses himself from the table and follows Stiles up the stairs and to his room. When he gets there, he finds Stiles curled up under his sheets with her head barely poking out. He smiles, then joins her under the sheets, not caring about his clothes, as he turns to see Stiles almost asleep. She opens her eyes a little, then smiles when she sees Derek laying right next to her. Stiles curls around him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer to her body. Derek complies as much, placing his forehead against hers and taking in her scent.

Stiles actually looks exhausted, like she could pass out at any moment. Derek brushes some of her unruly hair from her face and pecks her forehead with a light kiss. Stiles hums to the touch and snuggles deeper into his pillow. Derek doesn’t stop the smile from appearing on his lips before he buries his nose into her hair.

“Get some rest, Stiles.” Derek whispers into her hair and Stiles nods, not saying a word in reply.

Just like that, Stiles has fallen asleep and Derek isn’t far behind as he wraps his arms around her sleeping form. He falls asleep with her in his arms, and he honestly can’t believe that it’s his mate laying with him.


	3. Wolves and Malls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia takes Stiles and Derek to the mall. Stiles meets someone from her past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is short, but I hope it's enough to satisfy your needs for now. Sorry I've basically put this on hold because I've been working on other projects and have been on hiatus for a couple of weeks now. Reason being is that I just moved into a new place and I've just been on a writer's block since I'm getting used to the new place. Hopefully I'll finish this story soon! I promise there will be more! I just need to give myself more time to adjust. Plus, I may take this down eventually, only because I just want this to have no chapters and am editing this. I will also do the same for some of my older works!
> 
> Thank you guys for being patient! Your love gives me life!

The sun hits Derek’s face, making him scrunch away from the light as he buries his face into something soft and smelled delicious. Derek inhaled the scent, taking in all the different smells that embedded in the scent. It smelled like vanilla, lavender, woods, and pain- wait, pain?

Derek opens his eyes, scooting back some to see the person sleeping next to him. It was Stiles, hair in a tangled mess, face contorted in pain, as she slept. She was making weak, agonized whimpers in her sleep, hands clutching the sheets around them, and partially burying her face into the pillow. There were streaks of tears in the corner of her eyes, and she was physically shaking despite the cool warmth of the blanket.

Derek tightens his arms around Stiles, trying his best to soothe her without trying to wake her up. He knew well enough not to wake a sleeping Alpha, especially one that looked to be in a midst of a nightmare. So, instead of trying to wake her up, he begins trying to calm her down in her sleep by pulling Stiles tight against his chest and begins to whisper things into her ear.

“Sh, Stiles it’s okay,” Derek whispers to her, rubbing his hand up and down her arm and back. Stiles begins to press herself into Derek’s side, burying her face in his chest as she continues to whimper. “You’re okay, Stiles. It’s just a dream, nothing is going to hurt you, you’re okay.”

Derek continues to do this until Stiles is calm enough to stop whimpering and he can feel her tears dampen the fabric of his shirt. As soon as Stiles is calm, she wakes up with tears still glistening over her eyes and she just looked completely wrecked by this point. Derek rubs her arm again, staring into her wide brown eyes to make sure she was alright.

“Are you okay, Stiles?” Derek asks, his voice barely a whisper.

Stiles nods, not making any attempt to speak. Derek was sure that she was more comfortable being silent than using her voice in this form. He gives her a reassuring kiss on the top of her head and continues to rub his hand on her arm.

“Do you want to tell me about it?”

Stiles shakes her head, hiding her face in the crook of his neck.

“Do you just want to lay here?”

Stiles nods to this, fisting Derek’s shirt as she snuggles closer to him. Derek sighs, knowing that there are going to be some things Stiles wasn’t going to be so open about, at least for a while. So, he remains quiet, pressing himself back into the mattress as he listens to Stiles’ even breaths. They were like that for a few minutes until there was a loud bang on his door. Derek sits up a little to look at the door, which makes Stiles groan in annoyance before pressing her face into his side, her arms wrapping tightly around his torso.

The door opens and Lydia pops her head into the room with a wide and conniving smile. Derek knew, just from that smile alone, that nothing good was going to come from this. He watches her warily when she pushes the door open with enough enthusiasm to wake the whole town.

“Rise and shine!” Lydia sing-songs and makes her way to Derek’s bed, her focus mostly on Stiles. “We have a long day ahead of us.”

Stiles whines again, pressing herself more into Derek like if she just presses hard enough, she would literally merge into him. Lydia gives an unimpressed huff before reaching over and pulling the sheets away, which causes Stiles to flinch away and curls in on herself against Derek’s chest. Derek doesn’t stop himself from chuckling softly and running his hand through her hair. He turns to Lydia, who was waiting impatiently by the foot of his bed.

“We’ll by down in a few minutes,” Derek tells her.

Lydia huffs, then pointedly turns and walked out of the room with such grace that only she could muster.

Derek turns back to Stiles, pressing soft kisses against her hair while trying to soothe her as much as she can. After a moment or two, Derek slowly gets up, bringing Stiles with him. Stiles whines again but doesn’t fight Derek when he brings her to the side of the bed.

“Don’t worry about it, Stiles,” Derek says to her reassuringly. “No one likes mornings anyway.”

“Do I have to?” Stiles asks, giving Derek the biggest puppy-dog eyes he’s ever seen.

“Wouldn’t you like nice clothes for yourself?” Derek ponders, watching Stiles with a careful glance as she ponders. Stiles curls her lip a little as she thinks.

“Not really. I only like mate’s clothes the best.”

Derek huffs but smiles nonetheless.

“What would you say if I came along as well?” Derek watches as Stiles’ eyes grow even larger than they normally would have.

“Yes!” Stiles exclaims and throws her arms around Derek’s neck, bringing him close so she could rub her cheek against his. He chuckles softly and lets Stiles continue to scent mark him.

***

Stiles at the mall was an interesting event that Derek will remember for a long time. It was her first time being around humans and at first, she seemed a little intimidated by all the different sounds and smells. Eventually, she became comfortable enough to let Lydia dress her because she had no idea what it was like to have a fashion sense. Though, it seemed she did know what she liked because every time Lydia tried to dress her up, Stiles would just get grumpy to the point where Derek had to calm her down a few times or else she would accidentally shift in anger. Overall, Stiles did pretty well at the mall.

Afterward, they had gotten lunch at the food court when Stiles was approached by a girl no one has ever seen before.

“Stiles?” A girl with blonde hair approaches, giving Stiles a quizzical look. “Is that really you?”

Derek watches as Stiles quirks a brow at this girl, then takes a sniff in her general direction before her eyes widen in recognition.

“Heather?” Stiles questions and the girl, Heather, lights up.

“Oh my god, Stiles!” The girl nearly squeals before engulfing the young Alpha in a tight hug. “Where the hell have you been? I haven’t seen you in ages!”

“Excuse me,” Derek lightly cuts in, now curious about the girl who Stiles obviously knows. He didn’t think she would actually have friends when she was younger, but then again, he hardly knew much about his mate other than the fact that she was trapped in a wolf’s body for ten years. So, he really shouldn’t be surprised, but he is. “But, who are you?”

“Oh, I’m Heather,” The girl announces like that hadn’t already been made clear. “I used to be Stiles’ best friend in elementary school.”

“Our Moms were friends,” Stiles was the one to explain, smiling shyly at Derek. “We’ve known each other since we were in diapers.”

“Speaking of Moms,” Heather turns back to Stiles. “Where the hell has your family been? All you guys just up and disappeared on us, my parents had the police department search for you and everything, but they couldn’t find anything.”

“Oh…um…” Stiles turned pleadingly to Derek, looking unsure of what to say. “My family and I… had a family emergency, on the east coast. My Grandparents were in an accident and…” Stiles gulps. Derek can see she was really trying hard to come up with a good backstory to make up for the ten years she’s missed.

“Oh,” Heather had this knowing look on her face. “I’m so sorry, Stiles. Had we known, I guess my parents shouldn’t have made a big deal about it.”

“No, no, it’s okay.” Stiles smiles at her as best she could make. “I guess we left too quickly. My parents had decided to stay in Maine after that, to be closer to my aunts and uncles…”

“Well, I’m glad you’re back.” Heather places a gentle hand on Stiles’ arm, smiling reassuringly. “I’ve missed my best friend like crazy. Maybe we should hang out sometime?”

Stiles smiles softly, “I would love that.”

“Great!” Heather gives Stiles another hug before taking a piece of paper and writing her number on it and handing it to Stiles. “Text me later.”

“Okay,” Stiles smiles and waves as Heather turns around and disappears into the crowd.

“You handled yourself well,” Derek tells her, squeezing her hand tightly in his.

Stiles turns and gives him a watery smile, “I almost forgot that I was human at some point in my life. I had friends and school, and an actual life. I may have been nine, but I had a life.”

“Don’t worry,” Derek pecks her forehead. “You’ll get it back. Once you regain control, you’ll go back to being human in no time.

“Yeah,” Stiles sighs and turns back to where Heather disappeared to. “In no time.”


	4. Announcement (Author's Note)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I must tell you the truth. ヽ(ﾟ〇ﾟ)ﾉ

Hello my fellow Sterek Shipers and the like. It is I, the powerful Evil Succubus. *cue lightening and thunder*

I have an announcement to make. First off, sorry this isnt an update, but this is totes import. *snickers because of memories of the Prettiest Alpha*

For as long as I can remember (cough: since 2011) I have been writing Fan Fiction. Why? Because I learned about it after accidentally reading stumbled upon it while Google searching Nick Jonas pics to use as wallpapers for my very first laptop. It also happened to be one about NJ getting a blow job. (o_O) ! (Oh god, this suddenly makes that memory even more awkward now after all the gay smut I've read... Welp, there goes my pre-teen hood.) And it was a little traumatizing. TBH. (I was 13! I barely understood puberty back then! Of course I'd be traumatized by smut!)

Anyway, before I babble on. Before then, I kind of already wanted to be a writer. (You can thank Twilight. I dont care what you say about it, the series changed my life. You wouldnt have been able to read my works if it wasnt for Twilight. I'd probably would have just stuck to becoming a teacher or something.) Writing was a passtime for me and I desperately wanted to be a successful author like Stephanie Meyer. I knew that it was going to take some practice to hone in my skills and stop trying to write a book in a note book. So, obviously its taken me a long time onto learn how to become a writer and be able to get my ideas (Like this idea about four teenagers having the powers to control earth, water, fire, and air, and the MC turning out to be something more. Its been brewing in my head for years, and so far all the main characters suddenly look like Tyler Hoechlin, Dylan O'Brien, Arden Cho, Dylan Sprayberry, and Daniel Sherman) on paper.

When it came to Fan Fiction (going from Nick Jonas to Twilight, and then Sterek) I was mostly pantsing through my works. Almost all of my works don't have an outline, and if they do, its rather flimsy and weak. Ive been struggling to find the right outline for me so I can make better writing and actually finish projects instead of letting then sit there for countless months or years until I decide to delete them. And believe me, Ive never been able to complete any large project. Short Stories, easy peasy once I have the right motivation. Novels. Are. Fucking. Hard. To work through.

Now here is where Anchor comes in. Originally, this was meant to be a one shot that was supposed to have 10,000 words or so. It was going to be short, sweet, and finished. Admittingly, I did try to pants through this one. It didnt work out so well, and I was this close to not finishing it. I had an idea where this was going, but I felt intimidated and a little frustrated. I wanted to write something, but I didnt know what or how, and for a time I just wasn't feeling it anymore. Like I said, I was contemplating on deleting Anchor and giving up on it.

Then, a miracle happened. Well, it was more like a shot of inspiration with a mix of experimental plotting. Then I found a perfect way to outline Anchor! Thanks to a little browsing and a couple of How To Outline A Novel videos, I discovered a way of which I can make Anchor into a better story.

This particular outlining method is a variation of two existing methods. The Goal/Motivation/Stakes method, and Fretag's Pyramid. In case you didn't know, the Fretag's pyramid is actually a literary device that helps analyze literary works. Its the one with the Exposition, Rising Action, Conflict, Falling Action, and Resolution. This is what I'm using to outline Anchor, which helps me visually see where the story can go. The Goal/Motivation/Stakes helps me with character development. When I learned about this, I realized it would be perfect for Anchor because really, its a character driven story about Stiles gaining her humanity back after years being without it. Don't worry, Derek will still have a major part to play in Stiles' development. Hopefully, I can even plot out their relationship just as easily so their development into a couple will be more natural.

Now, how does it affect Anchor as it is now? 

Well, while working on the plot, Ive learned that there is going to have to be some changes to what Ive already written. I cant say exactly what yet because I haven't gone into details yet, and just going over the outline generally.

So, this is finally where I make the announcement. Very soon, I'm going to be deleting Anchor.

Now, now, now, dont throw me your sad puppy dog eyes. I know how much you guys love this story, and have given me wonderful feedback for it. All of which, I very much appreciate. But, my writer's instinct is telling me to take the whole thing down and start from scratch. Which I might do depending on the details, but I know I can't do that to you guys. Honestly, I understand how much it sucks when someone takes down an amazing story. Its happen to me more than once. That's why I'm giving you a heads up before I delete Anchor and start fresh. Of course, I'm not deleting it now. I'm still plotting and once I think I have everything ready, only then will I delete it.

I hope you guys can understand. My goal is to give you guys quality stories that I know I'm capable of. I just need some time to put things together so that way it would be easier to write and actually finish a novel for once.

Thank you again for all your love! I deeply appreciate my readers, especially those who give me feedback. They honestly make my day whenever I get comments.

 

Thanks for understanding!

With love,

Jo'E (─‿‿─)♡ 


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